/  W        P-fl-yi 


Circular   No    71,   Revised   Edition. 


United  States  Department  of  Agriculture, 

IUJKKAU    OK     ENTOMOLOGY. 
i     O.  HOWARD,  BntofaolocM  and  Cbtel  ■  i  flui— n 


HOI  si     I  III  v. 

Vutea  domestii  <  <-\  al. ) 

Bj    L.  0.   HOW  IBS. 

There  aw  Beveral  Bpeciee  of  flies  which  an-  commonly  found  in  h 
although  bul  one  of  these  Bhould  be  railed  the  bouse  ily  proper 
is  the  Musin  domestica  I.,  (fig.  1)  and  is  a  medium-sized,  grayish  fly, 
with  its  mouth  parts  Bpread  out  at  the  tip  for  Bucking  up  liquid  sub- 
Btances.  It  breeds  in  manure  and  dooryard  tilth  and  isfound  in  nearly 
all   part-   of  the   world.      On   account  of  the  conformation  of  its  mouth 


Fm  1.— Common  bom  "  Popartum  at  left;  ailult  next;  larva 

an«l  enlarged  parti  it  right,    Ail  enlarged  (author's  Qln 

s,  the  house  fly  can  not  bite,  yet  no  impression  is  Btronger  in  the 

minds  of  most  people  than  that  this  insect  does  occasionally  bite.    This 
impression    is  due   to   the   frequent    occurrence   in   houses  of  another  fly 
$  Icitrans  I..)   (fig.  2).  which  is  called  the  Btable  fly,  and 

which,  while  closely  resembling  the  house  By  (so  closely,  in  fact,  as 
to  deceive  anyone  but  an  entomologist),  ditlers  from  it  in  the  important 
particular  that  its  mouth  part-  are  formed  for  piercing  the  skin.  It  is 
perh.  nd  in  point  of  abundance  to  the  house  fly  in  most  portions 

of  the  Northeastern  Stat< 

commonly  called  the  cluster  fly  (  Pollenia  rndis  Fab. ' . 

:-  a  very  frequent  visitant  of  houses,  particularly  in  the  Spring  ami  fall. 

-  imewhat  larger  than  the  house  fly,  with  a  dark-colored, 

smooth  abdomen  and  a  sprinkling  of  yellowish  hairs.    It  i^  not  bo  active 

as  the  house  fly  and.  particularly  in  the  fall,  is  very  sluggish.      At  such 


times  it  may  be  picked  up  readily  and  is  very  subject  to  the  attacks  of 
a  fungous  disease  which  causes  it  to  die  upon  window  panes,  surrounded 
by  a  whitish  efflorescence.  Occasionally  this  tiy  occurs  in  houses  in 
such  numbers  as  to  cause  great  annoyance,  hut  such  occurrences  are 
comparatively  rare. 

A  fourth  species  is  another  stable  fiy,  known  as  Musi-inn  stabulans 
Fall.  (fig.  3),  a  form  which  almost  exactly  resembles  the  house  fly  in 
general  appearance,  and  which  does  not  bite  as  does  the  biting  stable 
fly.     It  breeds  in  decaying  vegetable  matter  and  in  excrement. 

Several  species  of  metallic  greenish  or  bluish  flies  are  also  occasion- 
ally found  in  houses,  the  most  abundant  of  which  is  the  so-called  blue- 
bottle fly  (Calliphora  erythrocephala  Meig.).  This  insect  is  also  called 
the  blow-fly  or  meat-fly  and  breeds  in  decaying  animal  material.  A 
smaller  species,  which  majr  be  called  the  small  blue-bottle  tiy,  is  Phormia 


Fig.  2.—Stomoxys  calcitrans:  Adult. larva,  puparium,  aud  details.    All  enlarged  (author's 

illustration). 

terrcenovce  Desv.  (fig.  4);  and  a  third,  which  is  green  in  color  and  about 
the  size  of  the  large  blue-bottle,  is  Lucilia  ccesar  L.  (fig.  5). 

There  is  still  another  species,  smaller  than  any  of  those  so  far  men- 
tioned, which  is  known  to  entomologists  as  Homalomyia  caniculaHs  L., 
sometimes  called  the  small  house  fly.  A  related  species,  H.  brevis 
Rond.,  is  shown  in  figure  6.  H.  caniculaHs  is  distinguished  from  the 
ordinary  house  fly  by  its  paler  and  more  pointed  body  and  conical 
shape.  The  male,  which  is  much  commoner  than  the  female,  has  large 
pale  patches  at  the  base  of  the  abdomen,  which  are  translucent  when 
the  fly  is  seen  on  a  window  pane.  It  is  this  species  that  is  largely 
responsible  for  the  prevalent  idea  that  flies  grow  after  gaining  wings. 
Most  people  think  that  these  little  Homalomyias  are  the  young  of  the 
larger  flies,  which,  of  course,  is  distinctly  not  the  case. 

Still  another  tiy,  and  this  one  is  still  smaller,  is  a  jet-black  species 
known  as  the  window  fly  (Scenopinus  fenestrate  L.),  which  in  fact  has 


become  more  abundant  oi  later  years.     [1  breeds  in  the  duel  under 
carpets,  and  its  larva  is  a  white,  very  Blender,  al -i  thread-like  creature. 

In  the  autumn,  when  fruil  appears  on  the  Bideboard,  manj  Bpe<  in 
,,i  ,,  small  tin 1 1  1 1  \   i  Drosophila  amptlophila   Loew)  (fig.  7)  make  their 
appearance,   attracted    by   the    odor  ol 
overripe  fruit. 

\  -mall,  slender  fly  is  nol  infrequently 
in  houses,  especiallj  upon  w  indow 
panes.     This  is   Sepsis   violacea   Meig., 
shown  enlarged  in  figure  v 

All  «>f  these  Bpecies,  however,  are 
greatly  dwarfed  in  numbers  bj  the  com- 
mon bouse  fly.  lit  1900  the  writermade 
collections  oi  the  flies  in  dining  rooms 
in  diflerenl  parts  of  the  country,  and  out 
total  ol  23,087  flies    22,808    were 

1/   II  SI    ll      llll- 

iii  i   S  /  i  C  <l  . 

thai  is.98.8 

per  cenl  of  the  whole  number  captured. 
The  remainder,  consisting  of  1.2  per  eni 
of  the  whole,  comprised  various  Bpe<  i<  b, 
including  those  mentioned  above. 

LIFE  111-T0KY  OF  Tin:  TRUE  BOUSE  PLY. 

Musi  il  ilmiii  stini   eniiilnonly    la\-  it- 

upon  horse  manure.    This  substance  aeems 

to  he  its  favorite    larval    food.       It   will  ovi- 

posit    on 


u~Iratinii 


ntarsed 
■nthor's  lllustr  it 


row  ma- 
nure. l>ut  we  have  no1  been  able  to  rear 
it  in  this  Bubstance.  It  will  also  breed 
in  human  excrement,  and  from  this 
habit  it  becomes  very  dangerous  to  the 
health  of  human  beings,  carryinf 
it  does,  the  germs  of  intestinal  dis- 
-  such  as  typhoid  fever  and  cholera 
from  excreta  to  food  supplies.  It  will 
also  lay  its  eggs  upon  other  decaying 
vegetable  ami  animal  material,  hut  of 
the  tlies  that  infest  dwelling  houses, 
both  in  cities  ami  on  farm.-,  a  vast 
proportion  comes  from  horse  manure. 

At  Salem.  Ma.->..  Packard  states  that  he  bred  a  generation  iii  f(  ur 
teen  days  in  horse  manure.      The  duration  of  the  egg  Btate  was  twenty 


.th'ir  s 

IllllSl 


four  hours,  the  larval  state  from  five  to  seven  daj's,  and  the  pupal  state 
from  five  to  seven  days.  At  Washington  the  writer  has  found  in  mid- 
summer that  each  female  lays  about  120  eggs,  which  hatch  in  eight 
hours,  the  larva  period  lasting  five  days  and  the  pupa  five  days,  making 
the  total  time  for  the  development  of  the  generation  ten  days.  This  was 
at  the  end  of  June.  The  periods  of  development  vary  with  the  climate 
and  with  the  season,  and  the  insect  hibernates  in  the  puparium  condi- 
tion in  manure  or  at  the  surface  of  the  ground  under  a  manure  heap. 
It  also  hibernates  in  houses  as  adult,  hiding  in  crevices. 

The  Washington  observations  indicate  that  the  larva;  molt  twice, 
and  that  there  are  thus  three  distinct  larval  stages. 

The  periods  of  development  were  found  to  be  about  as  follows :  Egg 
from  deposition  to  hatching,  one-third  of  a  day;  hatching  of  larva  to 


PlG.  (i.—Homalomyia  breris: 


Female  at  left:    male  next,  with  enlarged  antenna - 
All  enlarged  (author's  illustration). 


larva  at  right. 


first  molt,  one  day  ;  first  to  second  molt,  one  day  ;  second  molt  to  pupa- 
tion, three  days;  pupation  to  issuing  of  the  adult,  five  days;  total  life 
round,  approximately  ten  days.  There  is  thus  abundance  of  time  for 
the  development  of  twelve  or  thirteen  generations  in  the  climate  of 
Washington  every  summer. 

The  number  of  eggs  laid  by  an  individual  fly  is  undoubtedly  large, 
averaging  about  120,  and  the  enormous  numbers  in  which  the  insects 
occur  is  thus  plainly  accounted  for,  especially  when  we  consider  the 
abundance  and  universal  occurrence  of  appropriate  larval  food.  In 
order  to  ascertain  the  numbers  in  which  house-fly  larva*  occur  in  horse- 
manure  piles,  a  quarter  of  a  pound  of  rather  well-infested  horse  manure 
was  taken  on  August  9,  and  in  it  were  counted  160  larva  and  146 
puparia.  This  would  make  about  1.200  house  flies  to  the  pound  of 
manure.  This,  however,  can  not  be  taken  as  an  average,  since  no  larva 
are  found  in  perhaps  the  greater  part  of  ordinary  horse-manure  piles. 
Neither,  however,  does  it  show  the  limit  of  what  can  be  found,  since 
about  200  puparia  were  found  in  less  than  1  cubic  inch  of  manure  taken 


from  .1  -i»>t  •_'  inches  below  the  Burface  ol  1 1 1 •  -  pile  where  the  larvae  bad 
congregated  in  immense  numbers.  The  ditferenl  Btages  of  the  insecl 
are  well  illustrated  in  figure  l  and  need  no  description. 

REMEDIES    \M>    l'Kl\  ENTIVE8. 

A  careful  screening  of  windows  and  doors  during  the  Bummer  months, 
with  the  supplementary  use  of  Bticky  fly  papers,  is  a  preventive  measure 

against  bouse  flies  known  to  every ■•  and  there  Beeme  to  be  little 

hope  in  the  near  future  of  much  relief  by  doing  away  with  the  breeding 
places.  A  Bingle  stable  in  which  a  horse  is  kepi  will  supply  house  flies 
for  an  extended  neighborhood.  People  living  in  agricultural  commu- 
nities will  probably  never  !><■  rid  of  the  pest,  but  in  cities,  with  better 
methods  of  disposal  of  garbage  and  with  the  lessening  of  the  number 
of  horses  and  horse  Btables  consequent  upon  electric  Btreet  railway-. 
bicycles,    and    automobiles,    the    time    may    come,    and    before    very 


#  1 N 


>.-  : 


Fig  7     Drotopkitm  ampttophila    ■  adult;  b,  antenna  of  same;  e, base  of  tfbia  and  first  tarsal 
at  of  same;  A  puparlum,  side  view;  c,  puparium  from  above;  t,  full-grown  larva;  u.  anal 
■piracies  <>f  aame.    ah  enlarged  '  author's  Illustration 

long,  when  window  Bcreens  may  be  discarded.  The  prompt  gathering 
of  horse  manure,  which  may  he  variously  treated  or  kept  in  a  specially 
prepared  receptacle,  would  greatly  abate  the  fly  nuisance,  and  city  ordi- 
nances compelling  horse  owner-  to  follow  Borne  -mil  course  are  desir- 
able. Absolute  cleanliness,  even  under  existing  circumstances,  will 
always  result  in  a  diminution  of  the  numbers  of  the  house  fly,  and.  in 
fact,  most  household  insects  are  less  attracted  to  the  premises  of  what 
is  known  as  the  old-fashioned  housekeeper  than  to  those  of  the  other 
kind. 

During  the  summer  of  1^>7  a  series  of  experiment-;  was  carried  out 
with  the  intention  <»f  showing  whether  it  would  be  possible  to  treat  a 
manure  idle  in  such  a  way  as  to  stop  the  breeding  of  flies.  The  writer's 
experience  with  the  use  of  air-slaked  lime  on  COW  manure  to  prevent 
the  breeding  of  the  horn  fly  suggested  experimentation  with  different 


6 


lime  compounds.  It  was  found  to  be  perfectly  impracticable  to  use  air- 
slaked  lime,  land  plaster,  or  gas  lime  with  good  results.  Few  or  no 
larvae  were  killed  by  a  thorough  mixing  of  the  manure  with  any  of 
these  three  substances.  Chlorid  of  lime,  however,  was  found  to  be  an 
excellent  maggot  killer.  Where  1  pound  of  chlorid  of  lime  was  mixed 
with  8  quarts  of  horse  manure,  90  per  cent  of  the  maggots  were  killed 
in  less  than  twenty-four  hours.  At  the  rate  of  a  quarter  of  a  pound  of 
chlorid  of  lime  to  8  quarts  of  manure,  however,  the  substance  was 
found  not  to  be  sufficiently  strong.  Chlorid  of  lime,  though  cheap  in 
Europe,  costs  at  least  3£  cents  a  pound  in  large  quantities  in  this 
country,  so  that  the  frequent  treatment  of  a  large  manure  pile  with 
this  substance  would  be  out  of  the  question  in  actual  practice. 

Experiments  were  therefore  carried  on  with  kerosene.     It  was  found 


Fio.  8.— Sepsis  vinlacea:  Adult  with  enlarged  antenna  at  right:  puparium 
at  left.    All  enlarged  (author's  illustration). 

that  8  quarts  of  fresh  horse  manure  sprayed  with  1  pint  of  kerosene 
which  was  afterwards  washed  down  with  1  quart  of  water,  was  thor- 
oughly rid  of  living  maggots.  Ever}'  individual  was  killed  by  the 
treatment.  This  experiment  and  others  of  a  similar  nature  on  a  small 
scale  were  so  satisfactory  that  it  was  considered  at  the  close  of  the 
season  that  a  practical  conclusion  had  been  reached,  and  that  it  was 
perfectly  possible  to  treat  any  manure  pile  economically  and  in  such  a 
way  as  to  prevent  the  breeding  of  flies. 

Practical  work  in  the  summer  of  1898,  however,  demonstrated  that 
this  was  simply  another  case  where  an  experiment  on  a  small  scale 
has  failed  to  develop  points  which  in  practical  work  would  vitiate  the 
results. 

The  stable  of  the  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture,  in  which  about 
twelve  horses  are  kept,  is  situated  about  100  yards  behind  the  main 
building  of  the  Department  and  about  90  yards  from  the  building  in 


which  the  Bureau  of  Entomology  is  Bituated.  This  stable  bas  always 
been  very  carefully  kept.  The  manure  was  thoroughly  swepl  1 1 1 •  • 
morning,  carried  outside  oi  the  Btable,  and  deposited  in  a  pile  behind 
the  building.  This  pile,  after  accumulating  for  a  week  or  ten  days  01 
sometimes  two  weeks,  was  carried  off  by  the  gardeners  and  spread 
upon  distant  portions  of  the  grounds.  At  all  times  in  the  summer  Ibis 
manure  pile  Bwarmed  with  the  maggots  ol  the  bouse  By.  It  i-  Bafe  to 
Bay  thai  "ii  an  average  many  thousands  of  perfect  fli<  I  from  it 

every  day.  and  thai  at  leasl  a  large  share  of  the  dies  which  constantly 
bothered  the  employees  in  the  two  buildings  mentioned  came  from  this 
Bource. 

On  the  basis  of  the  experiments  of  1897,  an  attempt  was  made, 
beginning  early  in  April,  1898,  to  prevenl  the  breeding  of  bouse  flies 
about  the  Department  by  the  treatment  of  this  manure  pile  with  kero- 
sene.  The  attempl  was  begun  early  in  April  and  was  carried  on  for 
Borne  weeks.  While  undoubtedly  hundreds  of  thousands  ol  flies  were 
destroyed  in  the  course  of  this  work,  it  was  found  by  the  end  of  Blaj 
that  it  was  far  from  perfect,  since  if  used  at  an  economical  rate  the  kero- 
sene could  do<  be  made  to  penetrate  throughout  the  whole  pile  of 
manure,  even  when  copiously  washed  down  with  water.     A  considerable 

proportion  of  house-fly  larva    escaped  injury  from  this  treatment,  which 

at  the  same  time  was  found,  even  at  an  economical  cost,  to  be  laborious, 
and  such  a  measure,  in  fact,  as  almost  no  one  could  be  induced  to  prac- 
tically adopt. 

There  remained,  however,  another  measure  which  had  been  suggested 
by  the  writer  in  an  article  on  the  house  By  published  in  L895,  namely. 
the  preparation  of  an  especial  receptacle  for  the  manure,  and  this  was 
very  readily  accomplished.  A  closel  6  by  s  feet  had  heen  built  in  the 
corner  of  the  Btable  nearest  the  manure  pile.  It  had  a  door  opening  into 
the  stable  proper,  and  also  a  window.  A  door  was  built  in  the  outside 
wall  of  this  Closet,  and  the  -tablemen  were  directed  to  place  no  more 
manure  outside  the  building;  in  other  word-,  to  abolish  the  outside 
manure  pile,  and  in  the  future  to  throw  all  of  the  manure  collected  each 
morning  into  this  closet,  the  window  of  which  in  the  meantime  had 
heen  furnished  with  a  wire  screen.     The  preparations  were  completed 

by  the  middle  of  June,  and  a  barrel  of  chlorid  <>f  lime  was  put  in  the 
corner  of  the  closet.  Since  that  time  every  morning  the  manure  of  Un- 
stable is  thrown  into  the  closet,  and  a  small  shovelful  of  chlorid  of 
lime  is  scattered  over  it.  At  the  expiration  of  ten  days  or  two  weeks 
the  gardeners  open  the  outside  door,  .-hovel  the  manure  into  a  cart,  and 
carry  it  otT  to  be  thrown  upon  the  grounds. 

Judging  from  actual  examination  of  the  manure  pile,  the  measure  is 
eminently  successful.  Very  few  flies  are  breeding  in  the  product  of  the 
stable  which  formerly  gave  birth  to  many  thousands  daily.  After  this 
measure  had   been   carried   on   for  two  weeks,  employees  of  the  Depart- 


8 

merit  who  had  no  knowledge  of  the  work  that  was  going  on  were  asked 
whether  they  had  noticed  any  diminution  in  the  number  of  flies  in  their 
offices.  Persons  in  all  of  the  offices  on  the  first  floor  of  the  two  build- 
ings were  asked  this  question.  In  every  office  except  one  the  answer 
was  that  a  marked  decrease  had  been  noticed,  so  that  the  work  must  be 
considered  to  have  been  successful. 

The  account  of  this  remedial  work  has  been  given  with  some  detail. 
since  it  shows  so  plainly  that  care  and  cleanliness  combined  with  such 
an  arrangement  as  that  described  will  in  an  individual  stable  measur- 
ably affect  the  fly  nuisance  in  neighboring  buildings. 

With  the  combined  efforts  of  the  persons  owning  stables  in  a  given 
community,  much  more  effective  results  can  undoubtedly  be  gained. 

In  the  consideration  of  these  measures  we  have  not  touched  upon  the 
remedies  for  house  flies  breeding  in  human  excrement.  On  account  of 
the  danger  of  the  carriage  of  typhoid  fever,  the  dropping  of  human 
excrement  in  the  open  in  cities  or  towns,  either  on  vacant  lots  or  in 
dark  alleyways,  should  be  made  a  misdemeanor,  and  the  same  tare 
should  be  taken  by  the  sanitary  authorities  to  remove  or  cover  up  such 
depositions  as  is  taken  in  the  removal  of  the  bodies  of  dead  animals. 
The  box  privy  is  always  a  nuisance  from  many  points  of  view  and  is 
undoubtedly  dangerous  as  a  breeder  of  flies  which  may  carry  the  germs 
of  intestinal  disease.  No  box  privies  should  be  permitted  to  exist  unless 
they  are  conducted  on  the  earth-closet  principle.  With  a  proper  vault 
or  other  receptacle,  closed  except  from  above,  and  a  free  use  of  fine 
earth,  the  breeding  of  house  flies  can  be  prevented.  Covering  the  sur- 
face with  lime,  however,  is  more  certain  than  the  use  of  earth.  The 
writer  has  seen,  in  a  large  camp  of  volunteer  soldiery,  unprotected  sinks 
in  which  the  house  fly  was  breeding  by  the  thousands.  He  has  also 
seen  permanent  camps  in  which  the  sinks  were  so  constructed  and  so 
treated  with  lime  that  no  house  flies  whatever  were  present. 

A  Parisian  journal,  the  Matin,  during  the  winter  of  1905-6,  estab- 
lished a  prize  of  10,000  francs  for  the  best  essay  on  the  destruction 
of  the  house  fly.  The  jury  of  competent  scientific  men  awarded  the 
prize  to  the  author  of  a  memoir  in  which  it  was  proposed  to  use  residuum 
oil  in  the  destruction  of  the  eggs  and  larva3  of  the  fly.  This  oil  is  to  be 
used  in  privies  and  cesspools.  Two  liters  per  superficial  meter  of  the 
pit  is  mixed  with  water,  stirred  with  a  stick  of  wood,  and  then  thrown 
into  the  receptacle.  It  is  said  to  form  a  covering  of  oil  which  kills  all 
the  larvae,  prevents  the  entrance  of  flies  into  the  pit  and,  at  the  same 
time,  the  hatching  of  eggs.  It  makes  a  protective  covering  for  the 
excrement,  and  this  is  said  to  hasten  the  development  of  anaerobic  bac- 
teria as  in  a  true  septic  pit,  leading  in  this  way  to  the  rapid  liquefaction 
of  solid  matters  and  rendering  them  much  more  unfit  for  the  development 
of  other  bacteria.  For  manure  it  is  recommended  to  mix  this  residuum 
oil  with  earth,  with  lime,  and   with  phosphates,  and  to  spread  it   at 


9 

different  times,  in  the  Bpring  by  preference,  upon  the  manure  of  farms 
and  Btables  and  so  on. 

Practica]  experimentation  with  this  proposed  remedy  will  be  under- 
taken the  coming  spring  in  France. 

N  v  n  R  \i.   i:\i  HIES. 

The  bouse  fly  has  a  Dumber  of  natural  enemies.  The  common 
bouse  centipede  (fig.  9)  destroys  it  in  considerable  numbers,  there  is  a 
small  reddish  mite  which  frequently  covers  its  bodj  and  gradually 
destroys  it,  it  is  Bubjecl  to  the  attacks  of  hymenopterous  parasites  in  it~ 
larval  condition,  and  it  is  destroyed  by  predatory  beetles  al  the  same 
time. 

The  most  effective  enemy,  however,  is  a  fungous  disease  known  a- 
Empusa  muscte,  which  carries  off  flies  in  large  numbers,  particularly 
toward  the  close  of  the  season.  The  epidemic  ceases  in  December, 
and  although  many  thousands  are  killed  by  it.  the  remarkable  rapiditj 


FIG,  0.  ->■  •  pi      Mult,  niitur 

of  development  in  the  early  summer  months  soon  more  than  replaces 
the  thousands  thus  destroyed. 

WHAT   CITIES    ANI>   TOWNS   CAN    l><». 

It  would  appear,  from  what  we  know  of  the  life  history  of  the  common 
house  fly  and  from  what  remedial  experimentation  has  already  been  car- 
ried on,  that  it  is  perfectly  feasible  for  cities  anil  towns  t"  bo  greatly 
reduce  the  numbers  of  these  annoying  and  dangerous  insects  as  to  ren- 
der them  of  comparatively  slight  account.  The  health  departments  ol 
most  of  our  cities  have  the  authority  to  abate  nuisances  dangerous  t" 
health,  ami  it  is  easy  for  the  health  authorities  of  any  city  to  formulate 
rules  concerning  the  construction  ami  care  of  stables  ami  the  keeping 
am!  disposal  of  manure  which,  if  enforced,  will  do  away  with  the  house- 
fly nuisance.  Such  a  series  of  rules  was  formulated  in  the  .-prinu'  of 
1906  by  the  Health  Depart menl  of  the  city  of  Asheville,  N.  <'..  ami  an 
effort  is  being  made  during  this  summer  to  see  that  they  arc  enforced. 
On  the  3d  of  May.  1906,  the  Health  Department  of  the  Distrii 
Columbia  also  issued  a  series  of  order-  "t    this  nature,  mi  the  authority 


10 

of  the  Commissioners  of  the  District,  and  these  orders,  which  may  well 
serve  as  a  model  to  other  communities  desiring  to  undertake  similar 
measures,  may  briefly  be  condensed  as  follows: 

All  stalls  in  which  animals  are  kept  shall  have  the  surface  of  the 
ground  covered  with  a  water-tight  tloor.  Every  person  occupying  a 
building  where  domestic  animals  are  kept  shall  maintain,  in  connection 
therewith,  a  bin  or  pit  for  the  reception  of  manure,  and.  pending  the 
removal  from  the  premises  of  the  manure  from  the  animal  or  animals, 
shall  place  such  manure  in  said  bin  or  pit.  This  bin  shall  he  so  con- 
structed as  to  exclude  rain  water,  and  shall  in  all  other  respects  he 
water-tight  except  as  it  may  be  connected  with  the  public  sewer.  It 
shall  be  provided  with  a  suitable  cover  and  constructed  so  as  to  prevent 
the  ingress  and  egress  of  flies.  No  person  owning  a  stable  shall  keep 
any  manure  or  permit  any  manure  to  he  kept  in  or  upon  any  portion  of 
the  premises  other  than  the  bin  or  pit  described,  nor  shall  he  allow  any 
such  bin  or  pit  to  be  overfilled  or  needlessly  uncovered.  Horse  manure 
may  be  kept  tightly  rammed  into  well-covered  barrels  for  the  purpose 
of  removal  in  such  barrels.  Every  person  keeping  manure  in  any  of 
the  more  densely  populated  parts  of  the  District  shall  cause  all  such 
manure  to  be  removed  from  the  premises  at  least  twice  every  week 
hetween  June  1  and  October  31,  and  at  least  once  every  week  between 
November  1  and  May  31  of  the  following  year.  No  person  shall  remove 
or  transport  any  manure  over  any  public  highway  in  any  of  the  more 
densely  populated  parts  of  the  District  except  in  a  tight  vehicle  which, 
if  not  inclosed,  must  be  effectually  covered  with  canvas,  so  as  to  pre- 
vent the  manure  from  being  dropped.  No  person  shall  deposit  manure 
removed  from  the  bins  or  pits  within  any  of  the  more  densely  populated 
parts  of  the  District  without  a  permit  from  the  health  officer.  Any  per- 
son violating  any  of  the  provisions  shall,  upon  conviction  thereof,  be 
punished  by  a  fine  of  not  more  than  $40  for  each  offense. 

As  with  all  such  measures,  the  test  comes  with  the  enforcement,  and 
during  the  present  summer  these  regulations  have  not  been  well  enforced, 
owing  to  the  extremely  small  corps  of  inspectors  allowed  to  the  Health 
Department,  and  to  other  more  pressing  work.  They  can  be  made 
effective,  however,  and  it  is  earnestly  hoped  that  not  only  Washington 
but  other  communities  as  well  will  very  soon  be  brought  to  a  realization 
of  the  ease  of  house-fly  eradication  and  its  very  great  desirahility. 

Approved : 

James  Wilson, 

Secretary  of  Agriculture. 

Washington,  I).  C,  September  21,  1906. 


The  insect  <we  ncnu  call  the  "  house  fly  "  should  in  the  future  be  termed 
the  "typhoid  fly,  "  in  order  to  call  direct  attention  to  the  danger  of  allowing 
it  to  continue  to  breed  unchecked.     L.  0.  Howard. 

-10 

o 


UNIVERSITY  OF  FLORIDA 


3  1262  09216  5892 


